Cats and Flowers, but We are not Written in the Stars
by extra-Mt
Summary: Misty Day was a free spirit traveling around the world. She hardly came back to her apartment in NYC, but she couldn't move out because she was madly in love with the landlord, Cordelia Goode.
1. Chapter 1

_Synopsis_ : Misty Day was a free spirit traveling around the world. She hardly came back to her apartment in NYC, but she couldn't move out because she was madly in love with the landlord, Cordelia Goode.

 ** _"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map…Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go."_**

 _― Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye_

Misty stretched her arms and breathed in the fresh air as she finally got off the plane. With so much commotion around her, it wasn't exactly an ideal moment to relax. But it was enough for her after an eight-hour-long flight from African continent. She had stayed there a few weeks, photographing one particular tribe. She would sleep, eat, and do anything with the people in their way so she could establish a bond with them. Of course it was not like living in New York, where she could get anything she needs immediately. But who needs all that hectic atmosphere of the city, when you can see the Milky Way above you at night?

That's what Misty loved about what she does. She somehow managed to make living as a photographer since she'd graduated from a college, but it became so much more than a job for her. She loved traveling and discovering new places. She loved meeting new people and learning about their lives. There was nothing better than this. Misty thought as she retrospect the previous journey. She could hardly wait for the next adventure.

On her way back to her apartment by taxi, she mindlessly looked at the city and the people passing by. This place is big, she thought. The city always had something to amuse her. Street performances, Broadway, travelers… and it always made her feel isolated. This city was too much for a girl from a small town in Louisiana. Quite frankly, she didn't have to have an apartment here. She didn't have many belongings to keep in her place. It would be so much easier for her to just travel around with two suitcases with no place to go back. And she would've done that without hesitation if it wasn't for one person. The thought of the person made Misty's heart flutter, and the corners of her lips turned upwards just a little bit.

When the taxi reached her final destination, she hopped off the car, thanking the driver for his short-time companionship. Her apartment was not a luxurious building that you see on TV, but it was clean and homely and just suitable for Misty. It was the only and the last thing in the chaotic city that reminded her of her hometown.

She still couldn't get the latest adventure off her mind when she got into the elevator. _They probably don't know what an elevator is. Hell, who am I kidding? They definitely have no idea this huge box of iron is meant to carry people up and down_. She mused.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she could smell someone cooking and hear music. Her room was at the very end of the corridor. She turned the key and stepped inside. Misty had only been away for a few weeks, but somehow the room looked like it had been missing its owner for many decades. She directly walked to the bedroom and put her bags on the floor. Since she would be gone sometime soon, she wouldn't even bother to unpack, except for one thing. Misty stuck her hand in a bag and searched for the object. She grinned at the feeling of the material on her fingertips. Making sure that no damage had been inflicted, Misty made her way to the door and headed to the first floor.

As she successfully remembered to check the mailbox, she agreed to herself that having an official home has at least one advantage. It amazed her how much of mail she got in a matter of a few weeks. _None of it mattered anyway_ , she thought. As soon as she went through all of her mail, the door behind her opened as if on cue. Misty turned around and her eyes immediately met with shiny brown eyes.

"Welcome back, Misty. I knew you would be back soon." A blonde woman slightly shorter than Misty herself was standing at the door, smiling warmly. She was dressed in a white dress with pink flowers printed on it, a dress Misty loved at first sight.

"Hi, Cordelia. How have you been?" Misty beamed at her landlord. She was so excited to see the other that her grin turned into giggles. It was overwhelming for her, and she had no idea why. All she knew was that the woman made her feel warm inside every time she was around that woman.

"Fine, I suppose. How about you?" Cordelia responded with slight blush, hoping the wild blonde wouldn't notice it.

They had a small talk at the door, just to catch up with each other. Misty complimented Cordelia's dress, which the older woman dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I saw this at a shop and I really liked it, so…" she replied to Misty. It wasn't a lie, but what Cordelia didn't tell the other was that the dress reminded her of Misty and that was the reason of the purchase.

After several minutes, the landlord invited the other in, saying she had a package for the resident. Misty happily waltzed into the room and was immediately greeted by a black cat. "Mr. Whiskers!" Misty contently shouted his name and picked him up, which caused the cat to purr. Misty could feel the vibration of his body and smiled, telling him how much she had missed him.

"Thank you so much for taking care of him, Cordelia." Misty said as she releases the cat from her hands.

"Not a problem. You know I like him. I'm more than happy to help you." the landlord smiled. As a matter of fact, she loved helping the young girl with everything. It made her feel needed. It made her feel important. And it was especially flattering to know that she could be useful to the wild blonde. She wouldn't deny that there was something attractive about the girl; something that caused her to tickle inside. She was sure she would do anything for the other, and she had been looking after the girl's beloved cat whenever she was gone traveling. The younger blonde was a wild thing. She sometimes would be gone for a few weeks, and sometime she wouldn't be back for a couple of months. But Cordelia knew that as long as she takes care of the cat, the girl would come back to her every time, and it made the older woman feel safe.

A short moment of silence filled the room, and Misty fidgeted nervously, wondering what caused the landlord to fall quite. She cleared her throat, which got the other back to reality. "So, is that one for me?" Misty asked, pointing at the package the other woman had put on the table.

"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. Yeah, let me get that for you now." Cordelia giggled out of nervousness and walked towards the table, silently reprimanding herself for zoning out on her friend. She grabbed the box and made her way back to where Misty was, only to find out she had moved to drawers in the corner of the room.

There were about twelve objects on the drawers. Some of them were made of stone, some glass, and some were wood, but they all shared one thing in common; they were all cat-shaped. Misty got a small brown bag out of her pocket of her jacket. Cordelia watched her with a tiny grin as the wild blonde got a wooden cat no bigger than a couple of inches out of the bag and put it among other kitties. Satisfied with her work, Misty turned around and flashed a bright smile at her friend, causing the other to smile back.

"This is adorable." Cordelia murmured, picking up the new-comer of the collection.

"See, I went out to the middle of nowhere in Africa this time. There ain't no shopping mall. I had to curve that myself, you know." Misty replied. She wasn't sure if her friend would like it, but she was relieved to see Cordelia so happy and amazed by her work.

Neither of them remembered how exactly this thing had stated, but whenever Misty went somewhere, she would always get Cordelia a cat-shaped object from the place. Cordelia had perceived it as politeness when Misty gave her a souvenir for the first time, but the younger woman kept doing it to the point where Cordelia figured it might be more than that. The landlord still had no clue as to what this ritual symbolized, but she absolutely loved it. It meant that the wild blonde thought of her when she was away, and the very idea was enough for Cordelia to keep waiting for her friend.

"Africa. That sounds pretty amazing." the older woman stated calmly. She failed to add that she was jealous of her friend being able to see the world as she pleased, while she was stuck in the city being the landlord of an apartment that her mother had left. But she figured the traveler already knew and that's why she was bringing her souvenirs. _Maybe I'm complaining too much and too often. She thought. Perhaps, she is just pitying on me that I can't go anywhere. Perhaps, she's fed up with me telling her how badly I want to travel like her. Perhaps –_

Misty felt her insecurity and interrupted Cordelia's thought. "It's such a beautiful place. They have the most beautiful sunset you could ever imagine. I would sit on the ground and watch the horizon while making the cat." She laughed. The image of the sunset was still vivid in her mind, and Misty was momentarily back to the mesmerizing place. "I took some pictures, but you really have to see it with your own eyeballs to appreciate the beauty of it... I wish you had been there with me." she blurted out.

Surprised at her honesty, Cordelia looked at the other. She blushed at the fact that Misty had longed for her company in a foreign country and blushed even harder at the intensity of the sky blue eyes looking back at her eyes. It was overwhelming. She didn't know how to handle this. It always happened when Misty was around. Her body wouldn't listen to her, and her mind would stop functioning properly. She bit her lip and looked down to avoid any further eye contact or malfunction of her brain. "Ah, so, um, this…here is your package." still not meeting Misty's eyes, Cordelia extended her arms and handed the small box to Misty, who had a questioning look on her face.

"Um, thanks." Misty said. The older woman's sudden change in behavior made her concerned that perhaps she had been too forward with her affection. She surely was closer to the landlord than any of her residents, but she didn't know much about her friend's life. All she knew was that the older woman had a mother, who had a habit of neglecting her daughter. She wasn't even sure whether or not the mother was still alive. The landlord had never mentioned if she had a father or any other guardian figure. It broke Misty's heart to think that her friend was not so accustomed to receiving affection. Misty wanted so badly to tell her how much she adores her friend more than anybody. She knew the older woman deserved it, but at the same time, she didn't want to scare her away.

Still deciding whether she had stepped on the boundaries or not, Misty felt something on her legs and looked down. Mr. Whiskers was rubbing his face against her legs, reminding his owner of his presence. "I should probably get going." She sighed and said to the other rather reluctantly. The truth was that she didn't want to go, but her mind told her that it would only make the older woman more uncomfortable if she chose to stay. It was the last thing on earth Misty wanted. So she got her package and purring Mr. Whiskers in both of her arms and left the landlord's room, thanking her for the help once more.


	2. Chapter 2

" _ **If we'd never met, I think I would have known my life wasn't complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn't know who I was looking for"**_

― _Nicholas Sparks, The Longest Ride_

The two women would hang out whenever the younger one wasn't running around the city to promote herself. They sometimes went out but stayed in the landlord's apartment most of the time. Misty loved going outside, but she didn't mind staying in if it was with her friend.

Misty talked about her latest journey and showed the other the photographs she had taken during the stay. The wild blonde wasn't particularly good with words, but she tried her best to describe her experiences for the older blonde.

Cordelia, on the other hand, absolutely enjoyed listening to her friend. She liked listening about the culture and people that she didn't know of. But then again, she liked listening to Misty talk about anything. Everything the younger woman had to tell her seemed like magic to her. The wild blonde looked exceptionally pretty when her eyes shone with excitement, she thought.

When Misty finally ran out of things to tell the other about her adventure, she suggested they watched a movie, which Cordelia happily agreed. Cordelia walked into the kitchen and got a glass of wine for each of them. She buried herself and her friend in blankets and pillows on the couch while Misty was deciding on a film to watch.

If Cordelia had to choose one thing she liked most doing with Misty, it would be watching movies. Alcohol caused both of them to be less tense and more tactile toward each other. The older woman loved the proximity more than anything. It made her heart beat faster, which might be due to alcohol, she mused. This had been confusing for her at first because she didn't know how it was possible for a person to feel so nervous and safe simultaneously. But it was Misty Day after all. She made everything in Cordelia's world possible, and she knew she would be safe as long as she was in the blankets with the younger blonde.

The older woman had put her head on the other girl's shoulder at some point, and they were leaning against each other at the end of the movie, shoulders touching, hands not daring to hold each other. Misty momentarily thought before asking her friend the question that had popped up in her mind in the middle of the film.

"Do you believe in soulmates, Cordelia?" she asked curiously, still looking at the screen.

Cordelia was not surprised at the question, but she had to take her time to think before answering. "Yes. I do." she stated, just loud enough for the other to hear. She didn't know what else to say. It wasn't a lie, but there was more to add. She didn't know if she should articulate her answer to the younger blonde.

"You do?" Misty turned her head slightly to look at her friend.

"Yes. Don't you?" Cordelia frowned at the possibility that maybe her friend had a different opinion on this subject.

"Well, not really." the wild blonde responded with concern and a little of bit of guilt poking through her mind.

The answer caused the older woman to look back in the direction of the screen. She had to process what she had just been told. She knew in her mind that it was completely normal and okay for people to have different thoughts and opinions, but her heart sunk a little to know that Misty didn't see her in the same way she saw the younger woman. _She doesn't believe in soulmates._ Cordelia thought to herself. "Why not?"

Misty took a few seconds before opening her mouth. "Well, because, you see, I don't think there's only one special person in your life." She paused to look at Cordelia, who encouraged her to continue with a nod. "I mean, I've met some awesome people in my life, and they are all pretty special. I don't want to think that only one of them is truly special for me, you know?" Misty finished her speech rather quickly out of nervousness, hoping this would deliver what she meant and the other woman would understand it.

The answer caused Cordelia's heart to swell. She had never met someone quite like Misty. The woman was exceptional, even if the older blonde completely ignored her subjectivity. The more Cordelia got to know her, the more she became to adore the wild blonde. Even when the older blonde thought it was impossible to love her more, Misty made it possible. _Love… now that's a strong word, isn't it?_ Cordelia laughed at her internal monologue. _Adore. Adore is the right word._ She corrected herself.

"I see." The older woman replied calmly. She wanted to tell the other how much she adored her. But how was she going to do that? _Perhaps adore is a strong word, too._ She quickly changed her opinion from the previous internal debate. Cordelia couldn't dare to creep out the younger woman with her excessive adoration. Or maybe it was more like admiration. Adoration and admiration…whatever, Misty was every positive word Cordelia could think of. "I like how you think, Misty. I think it's very nice of you." Cordelia whispered, smiling at the other. She simultaneously cursed and thanked for her inability to use colorful vocabulary.

Misty's cheeks turned pink at the compliment, and she giggled. She was relieved that Cordelia didn't seem upset. Misty said a thank you, and they fell silent. But it didn't bother Misty this time, because she could see a smile on her friend's face and she knew they could both be comfortable in the silence.

" _ **Time was a funny and fickle thing. Sometimes there was never enough of it, and other times it stretched out endlessly."**_

― _J. Lynn, Be with Me_

As much as Misty loved hanging out with Cordelia, she was itching to leave for another new place. After two weeks, she decided she had enough time off and decided to go back to work. She grabbed her cat and baggage and headed downstairs. She just called a taxi, which meant she still had some time to talk to Cordelia before going to the airport. She knocked on the older blonde's door and heard faint footsteps behind the door.

Cordelia opened the door slightly to see who it was, and a shy smile spread across her face as soon as she saw her favorite resident. She swung the door open for the other to come in, but she didn't expect the other to bring in her cat and suitcases with her. The older woman's smile immediately dropped. Her expectation for the day to be another fun day with her friend had just been proven wrong. "You are leaving already." She couldn't be sure if that was a question or a statement.

"Yeah, I am. I'm real sorry it's so soon. I decided last night. I didn't have time to tell you." Misty felt guilty for having to leave her friend. It got more and more difficult to tell the other every time she was leaving. But what could she do? It was her job, and she loved that job.

"No, you're fine. Don't worry about Mr. Whiskers. I'll take good care of him." The older blonde assured Misty, fetching the cat from his owner's arms. "How long will you be gone this time?"

"Ah, I don't know… I might not come back until the end of summer."

"Oh, that's okay, I suppose." Cordelia said with the cat still in her arms. Mr. Whiskers stated to struggle, so she decided to let go of him. She was unsure of what to say or do in this situation, for the only thing she could think of was to ask Misty to stay longer. But who was she to ask the girl to stop doing what she loved? So instead, she asked where she was going.

"Okinawa, Japan. I've been to the country years ago but not that specific place, and I –" Misty tried to explain, but she was interrupted by a loud honk from outside.

"That's probably my taxi. I gotta go." The wild blonde looked outside and looked back at her landlord.

As much as Cordelia's heart was screaming for Misty to stay, she didn't want to make the younger blonde to feel guilty or uncomfortable. "Come home safely." She stood tall in the room and told the other firmly with the best smile she could ever master.

When the door shut and the taxi drove away, Cordelia looked around the room. It suddenly felt much smaller and suffocating. She could hear car engines from outside, Mr. Whiskers doing something in the kitchen, and people upstairs talking loudly. But not Misty's footsteps or giggles.

She was alone in her world once again, back to how it had always been.


	3. Chapter 3

" _ **If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever."**_

― _Alfred Lord Tennyson_

Cordelia waited, just like she had done many times before. That's why she didn't understand why waiting was so hard this time. Could that be because Misty wouldn't be back in a few months? Could that be because of the way those sapphire eyes had bored right through Cordelia's heart? Could that be because of the drunk movie nights they had shared? She had no clue.

She would spend her time mostly thinking in her apartment. She thought about her childhood and the bitch of a mother. Looking at a specific spot on the carpet in the living room, Cordelia wondered what kind of childhood Misty had. They had never talked about that. In fact, she realized, she didn't know anything about the Cajun girl's past. Misty had told her about the world countless times, but she had never talked about her personal life.

 _How long have I known her, for god's sake?_ She snorted to herself, but the thought was more devastating to the landlord than it was supposed to be. There was no connection between them, and there was absolutely nothing to make her positive about their friendship. The older woman didn't have the other's phone number since it was useless in foreign countries. Sometimes she didn't even know where the other was traveling. The world's news would suddenly be relevant for Cordelia. When the news said there was a plane crash, a natural disaster, or a bombing outside the country, she would worry herself to death.

But the younger woman would never know about Cordelia's troubling mind. Even right now, at this very moment, the Cajun woman must be grinning from ear to ear at new things she discovered in an island country. And all Cordelia could do was to wait, hoping the other woman would come back soon, if she ever would come back. Something solid, something more assuring. That's what she needed. She needed a proof, of their relationship, of Misty always coming back to her. She looked at the drawers with the collection of cats. The collection meant a lot to Cordelia, but with her depressed state of mind, it didn't seem enough. And the woman hated herself even more for thinking like that.

When Misty came back at the end of summer just like she said, she could barely hide her excitement to see Cordelia. The past months had been fun. She had seen the gorgeous sapphire ocean, met the kindest people, and tried many curious foods. Every day passed quickly before her eyes, and she didn't even realized how long she had stayed there. But there wasn't a single night without thinking of her dear friend in a faraway land.

As she got off the tax with her belongings, she spotted a silhouette of a woman in the small garden next to the apartments. Walking towards to the person, Misty couldn't stop her giggles. There was only one person that tended to the garden.

Cordelia must've heard the quiet giggles because she turned around to the young girl. The owner of the garden was wearing a pair of navy jeans that accentuated her slender legs, a white shirt that was slightly bigger than her size, and a dark brown gardening hat the older woman loved. Misty's gaze stayed on the hat a little longer. Something was different.

"Your hair. You cut your hair."

"Um, yes. What do you think?" Cordelia asked with a nervous smile on. The hair that used to reach just above her chest was now barely touching the shoulders.

"It's…I mean you look great. Not that you looked less beautiful before, but…" She let out a small laugh. It was very strange for the wild blonde to see her friend with short hair. The older woman looked really gorgeous in the other's eyes, but Misty felt a dull ache in the corner of her heart.

When Misty came back to the landlord's room after stopping by her own apartment to put her suitcases, she was still staring at Cordelia's hair. She knew her gaze was rather intrusive, guessing from her friend's fidgeting.

Feeling the no-so-subtle stare of her friend, Cordelia subconsciously touched her hair. She wanted to talk to Misty about her trip or anything to catch up with, but something told her that the other girl wasn't in the mood for a conversation. "Misty, is everything alright?" She was starting to worry that it might not be just about the hair.

Misty snapped her eyes from her short hair to her brown eyes that showed concern. "Yeah, everything's fine. Sorry. It's just that…" She didn't know how to say what was on her mind, not because she couldn't describe it with words, but because she wasn't sure if she should vocalize the thought. But her friend's knotted eyebrows implied that she needed more articulation. "It's just that, it feels so wired to see you like this."

"Your hair was long when I left." Misty continued. "But now you look different. You…" She thought she was going to cry. Why was she so heartbroken? "I mean, it's natural of course to keep changing. We age every day, and we change our looks… It's just, I don't know. I'm sorry." Misty looked down, unable to meet the other's eyes.

Cordelia was at a loss for words. Misty wasn't upset because she had cut her hair. She was upset because she had cut her hair while the younger woman was gone. _But what does that mean?_

"No, please, there's nothing to apologize for, Misty. I…" She instinctively stepped closer to the other, slightly closer than they would usually get. She wanted to hold Misty, but her insecurity stopped her from it. Instead, Cordelia gathered her courage and reached for the wild blonde's hand and cupped it with both of her hands. It was impossible for her to find words to comfort the other, so she hoped that this would suffice. "Misty, look at me." She searched for the sky blue eyes.

Misty's heart felt warm at the feeling of the hands encompassing hers. She moved her eyes from the floor to her friend's eyes. Misty could've sworn she could see her own reflection in those brown orbs. "I thought of you every day." Getting lost in the eyes, she blurted out before she could even think. "I missed you so much, Cordelia." Her eyes were now getting watery. She was scared. She had never felt so close to somebody in her life, and every time she tried to open up to the older woman, she had to fight the urge to cry. Her vision was getting more and more blurry, but she couldn't care less if Cordelia could see it. She had wasted so much time already. She needed to tell her. Misty couldn't bare the possibility that she might have to deal with any more changes Cordelia would make while she was away. "I missed you every day." Her voice was husky from the tears she was trying to hold.

Misty couldn't see it, but she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes. Cordelia was choking on her emotions. "I missed you, too. Misty." It was barely a whisper. "I felt so empty without you. I couldn't stand it anymore." She let go of Misty's hand, only to step even closer and wrap her arms around the younger blonde's neck.

Misty closed her eyes and felt hot tears roll down on her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around Cordelia's waist and nuzzled into the neat blonde hair. The older woman smelled like roses. And Misty could swear she smelled better than any other flower gardens in the world she had ever been to.

The two women stood there like that for a while, both waiting for their own tears to dry up. Cordelia felt like she was in heaven. She could live the rest of her life in Misty's arms. _No, heaven wouldn't even feel this great_. But as time passed and sniffling sounds subsided, the silence became unbearable to Cordelia. She slowly let go of the girl from her embrace but still maintained their proximity. Misty looked so beautiful even with her eye makeup smeared, and Cordelia couldn't take her eyes off the wild blonde. She absentmindedly raised her right hand and cupped Misty's face. It was like her body was taken over by another being. She was so lost in the other's blue eyes that she didn't realize when she started to stroke Misty's cheek with her thumb.

The wild blonde stared back at the other with the same level of intensity. She could still smell the other's scent, and it intoxicated her. Around the same time the older blonde started to caress her cheek, Misty flicked her eyes to the slightly parted lips of her friend. She bit her own bottom lip mindlessly. Looking back at the eyes, Misty noticed something in there that wasn't present a second ago. Could it be anticipation? She couldn't be sure, but the eyes kept boring her own. She brought her hand to Cordelia's cheek and did the same. Their faces were now only inches away.

Cordelia's heart skipped a beat at the new sensation on her cheek, and at the same time she could hear her own heartbeats drumming in her ears at the lack of space between them. Misty's face was getting closer and closer, and Cordelia thought her heart would explode.

"Misty –" She was going to plead, but a loud noise from within the room interrupted her. Cordelia jumped back at the sound and let go of Misty completely. "Shit, Mr. Whiskers!" She heard the Cajun girl yell at the culprit, who had knocked an empty mug cup off the coffee table. The older woman walked over and picked up the cup to put it back to where it had been. She looked back at the owner of the cat across the room. The magic had disappeared from the room, leaving the two women in silence.

Cordelia decided they were under some kind of a spell and that's what made them act the way they had. "So, how was your trip in Japan, Misty?" She sauntered to the other blonde and asked casually. She couldn't venture to ask the other what just had happened.

"Oh, um, it was good." It was apparent that Misty was still struggling to sober up from the magic. "The ocean was just so beautiful there. You could literally see everything under the water because the water is so clear. And oh!" She reached for her pocket and handed the other what she had gotten. It was a black cat with a big golden object in its one arm. It had its other arm raised at the height of the head next to its ear. Cordelia had never seen anything like it before and asked for an explanation with her eyes.

"It's a lucky cat." Misty responded with a bright smile. "A guy at the shop told me that it attracts money and luck. It's a coin, you see?" She pointed at the golden thing. "They had white ones and golden ones, too. But I got a black one because it kinda looks like Mr. Whiskers, don't you think? It's a little chubby like him."

The last comment made Cordelia let out a small laugh. She walked to her collection and made room for the lucky cat. _There are so many of them._ She thought. The older woman could tell which cat was brought from which county. And just like those cats, Cordelia remembered everything the younger blonde had ever told her about the world. She turned around to look at Misty, who had come to stand next to her. "So, are you ready to tell me about the place?"

Misty beamed at the other and gave her a big nod of her head.


	4. Chapter 4

" _ **I won't lie. I want to beat the hell out of any man who's had you… but nothing in your past can change how I feel about you."**_

― _Sylvia Day, Reflected in You_

Things had changed ever since the incident. Neither of them talked about it, but they both felt the difference in the air between them. Both of them became more tactile to each other. Misty would hug Cordelia whenever she got excited. Their hands were almost always seeking contact with each other. And to Cordelia's delight, Misty would now talk to her about her inner world. She told the other about her strict religious parents and community of her hometown. Cordelia's heart was shattered into pieces to know the young blonde, who deserved all the love in the universe, got next to none of it as a child. In return, Cordelia told her about her own childhood and life before she met the wild blonde. She often broke into tears trying to look back at her past. Her mother and abandonment, a father that she never had, being bullied in middle school, her attempt to end her life and numerous scars on her body, her ex boyfriends and a fiancé she almost had married… Cordelia talked about everything and anything she could remember, and Misty would hold her tight all the time.

"You never told me you had a fiancé." Misty whispered in shock, a little heartbroken to hear about the past lovers of the older woman.

"Because he is irrelevant.i We dated two years when I was in my twenty's, but he cheated on me with some girl he met online." Cordelia sipped wine from her glass. They had been drinking and chatting for hours now.

"What a jerk. I don't understand how people can cheat on their partner, you know? It's like, I know I would never cheat on mine, if I had one, that is." Misty couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt Cordelia like that. "He didn't deserve you any way." She added.

"Ha, I know. I don't even know what he's doing now. I wouldn't give a single penny to know though." Feeling the alcohol starting to affect her, Cordelia leaned further against the other woman. "So, you've never cheated on your boyfriend… How many boyfriends have you ever had?" Even if their friendship had grown strong, they had never talked about romance until now. Cordelia was dying to know about Misty's, but she was still timid when it came to the subject. _I could blame the wine_. She told herself silently.

"Me? I ain't have no ex boyfriend." Misty answered with her nervous giggles. She knew where this conversation would land.

Cordelia took a few moments to think with her tipsy mind before asking another question. "Girlfriends?" She hoped that her voice didn't sound so eager to the younger blonde.

Misty breathed out a mixture of a laugh and a sigh. "No. I don't have any ex boyfriends or girlfriends. I have never been in a relationship." A little frustrated with the exchange she had had with people so many times, Misty looked at her friend next to her with a serious look. "I know, I'm 28 and never dated a person. I just have never met anyone that I feel like dating." It was a phrase she remembered by heart, but she never imagine she would have to explain this to the other.

The older blonde seemed to be contemplating something, but Misty couldn't tell. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with that." Cordelia spoke softly. "There are people called aros and aces. It's perfectly normal not to want to be in a relationship. It's just who you are."

"People called what?" Misty didn't understand what the other just said.

"Um, so, aces are people who don't experience sexual attraction to another person, no matter what the person's sexuality is. And there are people called aros. These are people who don't experience romantic attraction to another person. Aromantic people may or may not be attracted to another person sexually, though. These are not the same thing." Cordelia was a little proud of herself that she had something to teach the younger blonde.

"Well, I don't think I'm an aro, though…" Misty told the other, eyebrows knotted together. "I mean, there is someone."

Cordelia looked away from the girl's face at the response. She didn't want to continue this conversation any longer. She didn't want to know about the person Misty had her very first crush on. Her black soul wished whoever it was would go to hell. "He must be the luckiest guy on the planet." She mastered a smile before walking to the kitchen with an empty wine bottle in her hand.

" _ **Nothing is forever, and neither is a goodbye."**_

― _Unknown_

It had been one and a half months since Misty had come back. This was the longest time she ever stayed in the city without doing anything work-related. She wasn't going to lie, it was actually nice to see the season change in the busy city. The wind was blowing hard and carried dead leaves for no purposes. The sky was extra blue and seemed a bit farther than usual, and Misty contently breathed in the autumn air from Cordelia's window.

She moved her gaze from outside to her friend, who was reading a thick book in the couch. The older woman had her glasses on, and Misty thought it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Misty sighed and looked out the window again.

"I can hear when you think, Mist." Cordelia temporarily stopped reading and looked up.

"Sorry." Misty said with her eyes still glued to the outside world.

The short-haired woman sensed Misty's troubling thoughts. She abandoned her book and walked to the window. "What is it?" She put her hand on the other's thigh, a gesture that never failed to comfort the younger blonde, but maybe not this time.

"I just…" Misty changed her posture so she could be face to face with her friend. "I've been thinking."

"What have you been thinking about?" The older blonde asked with a reassuring smile, but deep down, she knew there had to be only one thing.

The wild blonde took a deep breath before speaking. "I've been thinking that maybe it's time I left." Misty had never hated her job as much as she did now. She wished to stay with her best friend forever. But at the same time, she knew she would be a bird in a cage if she chose the path. "I need to go, Cordelia. You know that."

"I do, Mist. I do." Cordelia looked at her wild blonde before looking past her to see the blue sky above them. _Winter is coming,_ she thought. She wondered if she would have to spend winter by herself again.

"Do you remember when we talked about soulmates?" Cordelia heard the Cajun ask, and she nodded her head to the question with her hands still perched on the other's thighs.

The wild blonde nodded in response. "I've also been thinking about it a lot lately. And if you asked me the same question again, I would still say I don't think people are written in the stars." Misty took the hands in her lap. "But I think, maybe a person can have more than one soulmate. People I've met, they would all be my soulmates…They just have different purposes in my life." She breathed in again. She couldn't stop now. "And what I'm trying to say is that, I think you're one of them." She felt like crying. _It must look stupid. It's not like I'm confessing my love to her_ , she scolded herself.

"You make me feel safe, Cordelia, and no one's ever done it before. Ever since I was a child, I always felt left out, alone. Then I thought I could find my tribe somewhere else, so I left my home. And I've been searching and searching for the one place where I can finally feel like I belong. But no, I still feel like an outlier, no matter where I go or what I see." Misty was now sobbing. "But you, Cordelia. You make me feel safe. When I'm with you, I know nothing could ever hurt me."

It was Cordelia's turn to choke on tears. She could taste the salt in her mouth. "Misty…" She breathed out the name that she had gotten used to on her lips over the years, but nothing came out after that. There were so many things and nothing she could say. It would've been impossible for the older blonde to form any coherent sentence in this state anyway.

"Misty." Repeating the name like a prayer, Cordelia brought her hands and cupped the Cajun's face. Her lips tasted salty from the tears both of them shed, but Cordelia couldn't care less. Not now, not ever. She was finally kissing the girl she so strongly had longed for. It was a short, sweet kiss that lasted only for a second, but the older blonde was in euphoria. Cordelia hadn't realized how much she loved the other girl, or how much she meant to her life until now. She started to cry again, but this time it was happy tears.

Misty pulled the crying woman in her arms and soothed her, peppering small kisses on her temple. "I love you, Cordelia. I love you so, so much." She kissed every inch of Cordelia's face again and again. Between their sobs, Misty heard I love yous in a voice that didn't belong to her. She felt safe. It felt like she was finally coming home she's been looking for her entire life.

When Misty dropped her cat off at the landlord's apartment, she pulled the other into a tight embrace. It was still hard to leave, but knowing her lover would be waiting made it easier for Misty. She had a new propose to come back now.

"I promise I will skype or whatever it's called when I can." Misty planted sweet kisses on her girlfriend's lips. She wanted the moment to last forever, but it was of course interrupted by an obnoxiously loud honk of a taxi, claiming its arrival.

"I love you, Misty. Come home safely." Cordelia pleaded between kisses.

"I love you, too. And I will, I promise. You are my home, Cordelia. I always come back." And with that, Misty kissed her for the last time and fled.

When the door shut and the taxi drove away, Cordelia looked around the room. It suddenly felt much smaller and suffocating. She could hear car engines from outside, Mr. Whiskers doing something in the bedroom, and people upstairs arguing. But not Misty's footsteps or giggles.

Yet Cordelia was smiling. She was alone, but her soul was still with Misty. She could wait. Forever if she had to.

The End!


End file.
